Duffy has been the one stable man in a rotation of inconsistency

This season has been a beast. At times it has seemed as if this was a season to forget. They have reminded me of the Los Angeles Lakers. At other times the Royals look like the Golden State Warriors. We’ve been given heartbreak and pleasant surprises. Losing Mike Moustakas for the season represents the heartbreak. Representing the surprise is our man Danny Duffy. I don’t think surprise is even the word we should use in this case. Maybe revelation. Rebirth. The Royals coaching staff and front office probably won’t admit that they are more than shocked at Duffy’s success since rejoining the rotation. Since joining the staff May 15, he is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA, easily the best ERA of the whole staff. Better than the man they signed for over $70 million named Ian Kennedy. Better than their perceived number one starter at the beginning of the season Edison Volquez. Obviously the sample size is not very large, but he’s maximized his opportunities. He’s consistently shown the ability to pound the strike zone at a rate that he never has before. From 2013-2016 he averaged 3.3 walks per nine innings. Recently he’s posted a 2.2 walks per nine innings. He’s also found the ability to go deeper into games. Before this season he averaged just 5.4 innings per start. This year he’s gone at least six innings in five of his last seven starts. Saturday against the Phillies he just missed going the distance completing a career high 8 2/3 innings with eight strike outs.  Remember what I said about him pounding the strike zone? Out of 110 pitches, he threw 77 strikes (70% strike rate). It looks like his stint in the bullpen has changed his mentality. He’s working more efficiently than he ever has. This bodes well for him keeping his position into next season and the near future with the Royals.
   Duffy’s emergence as the teams most dependable starter has me looking at the rest of the staff wanting more. They have been pretty underwhleming all season. Critics identified the pitching staff as the weakest link of the team dating back to spring training. I did not think it would get this bad as the staff has been hot and cold, but mostly cold in recent stretches. After starting the season strong Kennedy’s effectiveness has tailed off. After ending May with a 3.24 era, his era now sits at 4.04 which isn’t terrible, but it ain’t good either. Especially when you consider he’s given up a homerun in nine out of his last ten starts, and has given up multi-homeruns in six of his sixteen starts. He’s given up 20 homeruns total. Volquez has been even worse with his 7.03 ERA in the month of June. That number mostly stems from his trademark start against Houston where he lasted a grand total of one inning and gave up 11 earned runs on eight hits. He’s gone at least six innings his last two starts since that disaster against Houston, but hasn’t been all that effective. He isn’t finishing batters off. Strikeouts are not the only stat to see if a pitcher is effective, but it does tell you if he’s keeping hitters off balance. Strikeouts can tell you the quality of the pitches being thrown. Volquez finished June with 14 walks and just 23 strike outs in 32 innings. For a comparison, Duffy finished June with 45 strikeouts in 36 innings on just nine walks. Last but not least on the fail train has been Yordano Ventura. The month of June perfectly perfectly describes Ventura’s frustrating season. On June 2 he went six innings and gave up two runs with three strikeouts. June 7, he got one out in the fifth before being smacked for six runs. On June 12, he had his best outing of the year going seven innings giving up just one run and struck out 10. His next start he took a shutout into the seventh. Then he proceeded to give up seven runs against the Cardinals on June 28. His most recent start was a lost day as he sprained his ankle and only went two and 1/3 innings. Along with his 5.26 ERA, you can add a 8-game suspension to his accomplishments for fighting with Manny Machado. With performances like these It’s easy to appreciate the job Duffy has done with his opportunity.
Duffy has been the only guy you can look forward to watching every five days. He’s been “box office” as Stephen A. Smith likes to say. Duffy brings Royals fans to the ball park and more eyes to the TV. Danny Parkins, host of the radio show “The Drive” on 610 sports radio, believes Duffy deserves an extension. Not this off-season but right now. ASAP. His price might be going up the better he gets this season. There are not too many left-handed starters throwing 97mph. He becomes a free agent at the end of 2017, but there is no way the Royals let him walk. It sounds like a smart idea to extend the only productive and most valuable pitcher Dayton Moore has groomed himself. Duffy’s a homegrown guy. A homegrown guy who said “Bury me a Royal” on Twitter in 2012. Why not sign that guy so he is apart of the Royals future going forward past 2017? Unless he becomes Clayton Kershaw 2.0 and suddenly decides he wants to be buried a San Francisco Giant or something. He’s south of 30 so he still has prime years ahead of him. Personally I’m on board with this school of thought. First, I want to see him power through this season without any major injuries. I at least want to see him make close to or more than 20 starts. I’m curious to see if he can keep his arm strength throughout the summer and into the fall. It will be key to watch his velocity as the season progresses. Will he be able to maintain his fastball velocity or will its speed and effectiveness start to tail off? So far, the gradual building of his stamina has gone about as perfect as Manager Ned Yost could want. He went from having a pitch count of 45 in his first start in May, to going more than eight innings in back to back starts. I want to continue to see him hold up for an entire season, and not break down like he did at the end of 2014. He finished that season with a 2.53 ERA in 25 starts, but wasn’t apart of the run to the the World Series. Aside from him showing he can stay healthy, I’ve seen everything I need to see to say the Royals need Duffy in their rotation going forward. The 27 year old Cali native is having a breakout season and it has been refreshing to say the least.